Total toll charges came to around 9500/-, which worked slightly more than 1Rs/KM
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For quite some years now, we having been doing road trips. With kids however we realized we cannot do road trips the same way we used to do earlier. In 2022 we were planning for a road trip, my younger kid was yet to complete 2(elder one was 5) and were not sure if kid can endure long distances. Northeast was under consideration, due to distance and kids age we decided to do Uttarakhand circuit. And instead of driving all the way from Bangalore, we flew to Delhi and then rented a self-drive car (Creta), drove from Mussoorie- Auli-Ranikhet-Rishikesh and few more places. Returned to Delhi by including Amritsar. We had covered close to 3K KM’s which gave us confidence and idea on planning trip with little ones.Come 2023 we were sure of doing roadtrip from Bangalore and had shortlisted Sikkim and Arunachal. While Sikkim was easier and would comfortably suit within 17-18 days leave, we had in hand, northeast was always a dream. After weeks of planning, finally shortlisted a plan. Thanks to friends, tbhpians who helped in refining and finalizing the plan.
While we did not have concrete plan for return journey and were keen on taking the same route back (visiting Vizag), made some changes last minute and decided to drive via Varanasi-Nagpur. During our Uttarakand trip, we realized 8-9 days on same terrain gets boring due to which we ended up driving to Amritsar for a change. So, we repeated same and ended up driving via Varanasi. Below is the itinerary and plan we finally did:
The circuit
The car for our trip
Day 1: Bangalore-Rajahmundry
We started from home at 4:00 AM and hit Tirupati highway in no time. Had packed sandwich for breakfast and Parathas for lunch which helped us in saving some time. Kids slept until we stopped for breakfast somewhere post Tirupati. Reached Rajahmundry by around 4:00 PM and checked in at Anand Regency which we found first while entering the city. Checked-in, freshened up and took a rickshaw to Godavari ghat. We spent some time at banks of river Godavari and returned back post sunset. Did some local shopping and back to hotel by 7 pm. Had dinner at hotel which was decent.
Hotel and Road
Hotel Anand Regency was decent and within city limits and was clean. Comfortable beds, spacious room. Since we kept most of our luggage in car, secure parking was important which the hotel had.
We took the usual Bangalore-Tirupati Road, which is in fantastic shape. One can easily do Tirupati in 3-4 hours. Tirupati to Nellore had some bad patches though did not have much issue with Fortuner. I driven via same road, 4-5 months before while visiting Vijayawada. Nellore- Rajahmundry was breeze, mostly 6 lanes as I recall.
Beautiful Godavari
Day 2: Rajahmundry-Bhubaneshwar
Day 2 was relatively easy journey as we had to cover only around 600 odd KM. Thought of visiting Puri temple but cancelled plan later as kids would find it difficult with queue and heat. Chilika lake was on the way and we spent some time by the lake. We were ahead of schedule and on the way decided to visit Gopalpur beach. Nothing fancy but a good and clean beach nonetheless. We had our lunch at a restaurant by the beach. It’s about 10-15KM detour from highway. Reached Bhubaneshwar by 4:00 pm. There were plenty of speed cams as we reached closer to Bhubaneshwar. So far haven’t received a challan, so assuming I did not go over speed or speed cams were not functional. Later for dinner, we went out to meet my college buddies and had a good time revisiting memory.
Hotel and Road
We stayed at highway Hotel La-franklin. The hotel was very close to highway which means easy exit next day. Rooms were good and had secure parking. Nothing fancy, just clean place which is what we were looking for.
Roads were good throughout though there was some traffic we encountered after exiting Rajahmundry city. The bypass to Vizag was okay and did consume some time. Roads are mostly 4 lanes, however one need to keep watching out for speed cam. Post Vizag bypass, we did not find good place for breakfast/Lunch.
@Gopalpur Beach
Hotel Parking
One with LC 300
Day 3: Bhubaneshwar-Kolkata
Started at 7:00 AM from hotel as we were anticipating rather easy drive. We did not find decent restaurants but few KM’s and we found series of sweet shops (might be Pahala) at highway and stopped for quick breakfast. We had some variety of rasagulla, some chats and some more sweets. While the place is not very hygienic, food tasted good and our tummy did not go for a toss. By noon we crossed WB and stopped at a Bengali restaurant for lunch. We reached Kolkata at around 3PM and settled at hotel Fortune Panchwati. Having visited Kolkata earlier, did not dare to drive and hired cab from UBER. Visited Victoria Memorial, Howrah Bridge and few other popular places. Did some shopping before settling at Haldirams for dinner. We found taste ok and did not rekindle same memories as last visit. The Jhal Muri near Victoria memorial which we had earlier was quite good. We spent good 4-5 hours exploring the city and felt the city hadn’t changed much since my visit couple of years ago.
Hotel and road
We stayed at hotel Fortune Panchwati which was at outskirts of city. We usually look for hotels which are closer to highway which helps us to check-in sooner and checkout without having to drive through traffic next day. The rooms were typical 3 -4-star grade and got a parking right in front of my room.
The roads were bad in some sections though nothing that caused problem to Fortuner or for that matter any other car with good GC. We took little more time than anticipated though, thanks to bad roads and diversions. I think Bangalore to Kolkata can be done in 2 days if you plan well.
Legendary Kolkata Taxi
@Kolkota hotel parking
Day 4: Kolkata-Siliguri
Going by threads here in tbhp and discussion with friends, this was supposed to be among the challenging stretches due to traffic, road conditions. We started early at around 4AM. Filled diesel on the way and gmaps took us through tiny villages. I don’t really recall the names and the exact route we took. While the roads were good it did take some time. Once we hit 4lane it was breeze/ We crossed dreaded Farakka in no time and after Malda, roads were pretty good. We did not stop for breakfast instead decided to use our packed theplas/snacks in car. For lunch, stopped at a restaurant before Farakka. Overall, may be the day we travelled or the time, the drive turned out to be much easier than we anticipated. A lot of bypasses were open, which also helped the drive. We were used to seeing tea estate in mountains but were fascinated to see tea estate in plain lands as we approached Siliguri. We stopped at places to click some pictures and some locals allowed us to take car inside the estate. Initially we planned to stay at city as we did not find good stay in outskirts but later found out a decent hotel near highway. Turned out its little interior though rooms were good and big. While we are used to staying at secluded place, was a bit apprehensive this time as we were the only guest at hotel. That said we didn’t encounter anything bad, had good dinner at hotel and called the day. Morning, we clicked lot of pictures and the campus was really beautiful amidst tea estate.
Hotel and Road
Stayed at Swastika Eco Park – while the place is nice, surrounded by tea estate, would not recommend to all as it is secluded and away from city and highway. Food was decent and hygienic. The approach road is bit off-road and might be difficult for sedans.
The roads as I mentioned turned out to be much better than we anticipated. Compared to previous day, felt the road surface was better and traffic was lighter too. Some bypass appeared to be opened recently, which helped the drive.
On the way to Siliguri
Captured at Siliguri Hotel
Day 5: Siliguri-Mangaldoi
Started at 6M and drive was scenic amidst tea plantations. Stopped at a small restaurant and had hot parathas for breakfast. We were not sure if to drive to Guwahati or stop at some other place. We could not find many decent places other than Bongaigaon, which we felt was too early. While casually browsing found a hotel Repose at Mangaldoi and decide to stay there. Found a Toyota service centre by highway at Barpeta Road and tanked up AdBlue. The local staff recommend hotel Rekha and we had sumptuous Assamese thali. While we were few KM’s away from hotel, spotted school folks practicing/celebrating Bihu and kids wanted to have a look. We parked car at about 50M away and event was happening at school ground near road. While we were at venue, noticed few folks in bicycle approaching car and trying to peek at stuff inside. Immediately we rushed back to car, they started moving back as they saw us come to car. It might have been folks were curious but I realised that we should have avoided parking as we were in a KA car in an unknown place. Nothing untoward happened and we reached hotel at around 5PM .
Hotel and Road
Stayed at Repose Highway Resort – one of the best stays in our trip with clean, well done and beautiful rooms. They had large play area for kids where we spent rest of the evening. Attached restaurant served some lip-smacking food and among the cleanest kitchens I have seen.
The roads were good and scenic. No major cities and driving across countryside were beautiful. Mostly 4 lane roads with few diversions. Also noticed a lot of huts supplying AdBlue, the price was around 57, which is significantly cheaper than Toyota AdBlue. Wasn’t sure about quality hence decided to fill at Toyota. Drove via Bongaigaon-Barpetta-Mangaldoi. We were driving very close to Bhutan border and on the way, we could spot a lot of Bhutan registered cars. Looks like Bhutan loves Toyota, lot of Old Prado/LC were seen.
Bihu Celebration near Mangaldoi
Day 6: Mangaldoi-Dirang
The drive was a short one though we had to climb. Probably could have made it to Tawang but we wanted to keep it short. Had a breakfast at hotel and started at around 8AM, and driving slowly, taking pictures and enjoying the drive. Stopped at what appeared like a tiny hut for lunch which served some good Momo’s and noodles. It was a nice lunch while some locals engaged in good conversation. Reached Dirang around 4PM. Initially we planned to stay at Bomdila but decided to push towards Dirang. There are few places you can visit like Shyok valley, Thembang village etc. We decide to visit monastery, which was beautiful and stroll around the sleepy little town. Dirang is at lower altitude compared to Bomdila and is by the river which is a different experience. We spent good enough time at monastery enjoying the views.
Hotel and Road
Stayed at Hotel Mandala which was neat and clean, just what we needed for a night. For what it offers, was a bit pricey but again had good parking and car could be seen from room. The hotel again is on the way to Tawang, which means easy start next day.
Road is fantastic, though single lane and twisty. We were asked for ILP (which we procured online) and checking was done quickly. The security personal checked IDs and let us through. We could see some snow-capped mountains. Traffic was sparse and we did take some detour which took us to some beautiful places.
Beautiful Dirang Monastry
Little waterfall near Dirang
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Keyword: Bengaluru to Arunachal: A road trip across 11 states in a Fortuner 4x4